The cut reduced/eliminated awards in the country, folk, blues and gospel fields, among others, so we made a point to ask artists on the red carpet at Nashville's Grammy nominees party to share their thoughts.

In the video above, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and more weigh in on the category cuts.

We had the chance to talk to all of them - and more - during their time on the red carpet about what the honor means to them, what the range of local nominees says about Nashville, and what they're looking forward to at next month's show.

Kanye West leads with seven nominations. Adele is also up for six Grammys, including album, song and record of the year. She's currently recovering from surgery on her vocal cords and her sophomore album, "21," was last year's top seller.

Hard to say. It was fun, as best I remember, this nearly gone Nashville music year. It started off in sadness, with the January death of Country Music Hall of Famer and longtime Grand Ole Opry star Charlie Louvin, but ramped up in February with one of Music City’s biggest Grammy nights. And it wound up with key musical moments that spanned genres and generations.

Here are some of the things I’ll recall about 2011:

The ascent of The Civil Wars, the breakout duo of Joy Williams and John Paul White. The Civil Wars’ songs, harmonies and stage charisma helped Williams and White charm worldwide audiences and receive country nominations for the CMA and CMT awards, and for the upcoming Grammy Awards. Williams and White also got a folk album Grammy nomination, two Americana Awards nominations and a Vanguard Award at ASCAP’s 2011 Country Music Awards. So is this duo country, folk or Americana? Well, sure.

During the one-hour live telecast, nominees in key categories will be revealed for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, taking place February 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Following the one-hour live telecast from the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, The Band Perry will also give an exclusive full concert for guests. If you're in the area, you can buy tickets to the telecast and concert at www.nokiatheatrelalive.com as well as Ticketmaster or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Chris Young at LP Field, where he'll perform on June 11 as part of the CMA Music Festival (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Chris Young’s string of successes marks him as a major player in country music’s new world order.

He’s notched a Grammy nomination and three straight No. 1 hits, with current single “Tomorrow” in the top 10 and climbing. Sophomore album The Man I Want to Be has sold nearly 500,000 copies, with new album Neon slated for a July release. And Saturday, Young — who first played a side stage at what was then called Fan Fair when he was 16 — is set to take the CMA Music Festival’s main stage at LP Field, a slot that isn’t offered to should-bes or gonna-bes.

But in his hometown of Murfreesboro, the “Chris Young Becomes a Country Star” story was predictable.

“I’ve never had anybody in Murfreesboro not supporting me in what I was doing,” says Young, who spent his ’Boro childhood sharing the local “can’t miss kid” tag with baseball ace David Price, who now stars for the Tampa Bay Rays. “That’s a big deal. You want people from your hometown to go, ‘Yeah, we love that guy.’ I don’t want to do anything to screw that up.”

A polite, serious, charismatic fellow with a sturdy, rangy baritone, Young seems impervious to self-sabotage. But, though the soda sippers at Young’s favorite Sonic on Memorial Drive may not have realized it, his rise from precocious teen to star status was hardly assured. Two years ago, even, the whole thing was in peril.

“He had his doubts, but I never did,” says childhood best friend Meagan McManus, who usually joined Young on the Oakland High School honor roll. “Everybody knew he would make it, it was just a matter of when.”

Of course. The popular perception is that the cream rises, that talent prevails. And in 2011, on the eve of his 26th birthday, Young is a popular reality, and one of a few contemporary country solo stars to emerge from Middle Tennessee (most of the others are the sons or daughters of famous country singers: think Hank Williams Jr., Pam Tillis or Carlene Carter).

All true, and all impressive, though no more so than Young’s ability to weather a succession of career storms that could have cost him a record deal in 2009.